


Pudding Yourself First

by Blistering_Typhoons



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Benny Lafitte & Dean Winchester Friendship, Benny Lafitte Cooks, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, Coffee, Cooking, Dean Winchester Has a Crush on Castiel, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester's Parent, Dean is the best brother, Enemies to Friends, Food Porn, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Gen, I have too many tags, M/M, Rampant Consumerism, Scenery Porn, Stupid Title is Stupid, Weddings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-01
Updated: 2019-12-01
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:53:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21637669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blistering_Typhoons/pseuds/Blistering_Typhoons
Summary: Dean Winchester's baby brother is getting married. Which is amazing and all, if only Sam and his fiancé, Gabriel, didn't want 'an authentic catering experience.'Which somehow meansDeanis the one who has to arrange and cook all the food.Deciding to enlist the help of his best friend, Benny Lafitte, who also thankfully happens to be a cook and then Benny's next door neighbour for some reason- because he was never going to be able to say no to Sammy.Together, they're in for a few weeks of shopping, cooking, baking and drinking.(or in which an english born south african tries to figure out an american christmas)
Relationships: Benny Lafitte & Dean Winchester, Castiel & Benny Lafitte, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Eventually - Relationship, Gabriel/Sam Winchester
Kudos: 7





	Pudding Yourself First

**Author's Note:**

> Yes.
> 
> This fic was born solely because of the title
> 
> Tis the month of December and I have finally decided to admit to myself that I do indeed enjoy Christmas immensely. And while the title was brought into this world around 2:AM in a matter of a few giggly seconds- this fic has been in the works, or more specifically, in the dark recesses of my mind for two years. 
> 
> And while this year has been mostly shite for me, I wanted to end it with a wholesome, though probably not family-friendly, Christmas fic that I hope brings a smile to somebody's face this season.
> 
> So if you enjoy, banter, food porn and unbearably sweet fluff- I hope you stay and see what my tiny gremlin mind comes up with!
> 
> Speaking of which, thank you to my mother and sibling for reading this over more than once and giving me the ok every time I asked, and my father for hyping me up.
> 
> And now without further ado- enjoy :D

Dean Winchester’s baby brother is getting married.

Granted, Sam is way past the baby stage and taller than Dean by quite a few inches, but still.

Dean practically raised the not so little idiot, fed him most days and used his own pocket money to buy him a suit for prom.

Only for Sammy to casually tell him the news over a cup of coffee at their favourite diner.

_‘’Holy shit.’’_ , Dean’s long time friend, Benjamin Lafitte, had breathed out as Dean himself turned ashen.

There might have been a few tears and then Sam’s fiancé, Gabriel Shurley, popped out of nowhere laughing and crying and it was just all a mess from there.

But now?

Now it’s a different kind of mess.

The planning kind of mess.

Sam had announced to the world that he and Gabe were engaged two months ago, and them being the impatient shits they are, had decided to start preparations right away.

Dean has never understood the whole fuss around weddings. Hell if it were him, he’d spare all his money for the honeymoon and just have a quick and easy one somewhere in Vegas.

Benny had dryly remarked that it _didn’t sound very romantic, chief._

Not that any of their opinions matter anyways, Sam had always been firmly of the belief that if you’re gonna do a wedding, you should _do_ a damn wedding.

Dean had wanted to make a joke about having sex with the decorations and invitations, but one knowing look from Sam had shut him right up.

For the most part the only messy thing about this whole event was mostly stress from the grooms and annoying family members.

And the fact that since the beginning Gabriel had been adamant on a goddamn Christmas wedding.

Dean hadn’t even known Christmas weddings were a thing, until Gabriel and Sam sat him down in front of a Google image search page.

He remains unimpressed.

_‘’No offence Gabe, but this looks really tacky.’’_

__

‘’Yeah that’s the point, Deano. Me and Sammoose wanna have fun at our wedding!’’

__

‘’Sammy-‘’

__

‘’I agree with him, Dean. Plus instead of a reception we just go back to our house and do a Christmas dinner and presents.’’

__

‘’Fine, ok, stressful- but also I keep forgetting to ask- catering? And who’s cooking this magical Christmas dinner of yours?’’

__

‘’Yeah, about that...’’

__

‘’Gabe? You have told him right?’’

__

_‘’About what specifically my beautiful bride, the fact that I want tinsel sown into my suit or the fact that we want him to provide food and all that...?’’_

And of course, the food.

That Dean is apparently supposed to prepare, because Sam wants ‘an authentic catering experience’ and Dean is the only one qualified to do so.

**‘’What.’’**

_‘’You don’t have to! Me and Gabe just thought it’d be really amazing and good and...crap.’’_

And Sammy had been right. Dean does not have to do this.

He really doesn’t.

Cooking for more than three people is stressful enough, thank you.

And besides, he can’t even cook that well!

Ok maybe a few desserts, which is baking!

No.

He isn’t doing it, Sammy is just going to have to find a catering service that has family in the title or some shit.

‘’Benny! Open the door! Please!’’

The door swings open within seconds, revealing a groggy but clearly very concerned looking Benny.

‘’Dean? You alrigh’ brother?’’, the large man asks and Dean nods breathlessly, hunching over to catch his breath.

Luckily for him Benny lived only a few blocks away from his apartment.

Unlucky for him though, Bobby’s been getting it right that Dean’s not up to his usual fitness.

Which is frankly quite rude.

‘’Yeah, whoo, sorry man. Can I- Can I come in?’’, Dean huffs out and Benny relaxes slightly and steps aside as to let Dean stumble in.

Benny’s house (house, not apartment, what a damn concept) is huge and the kitchen is even bigger. Dean’s joked many times about marrying Benny just for his glorious granite countertops and massive curved island.

In short, it’s perfect for cooking a bunch of food, should Benny agree to it.

Dean’s fairly sure he will, considering the man’s passion and talent for food outranks Dean’s in both regards.

When Dean had asked him where he’d learnt it all, Benny’s expression hollowed for a few moments. He’d given a vague answer about working in a diner in Carencro, but Dean had seen right through it.

But, he hadn’t asked again.

‘’Now, what’s the fuss all about? Sammy ask ya to bring a plus one?’’, Benny teases and Dean grimaces.

‘’No. It’s much worse than that.’’, Dean almost groans out.

Benny raises an eyebrow (he’s really good at politely interested) and makes his way to the ancient coffee machine situated on one of said granite countertops.

He refuses to get rid of it, no matter how many times Dean’s given him shit about it. Because Benny’s pretentious and only uses the most archaic of cooking instruments.

_‘’Dean how is this different to your, whatcha call it, retro aesthetic?’’_

__

‘’Because that’s all it is, Grandma, an aesthetic. I embrace moving forwards and the technological advances in science, medicine and goddamn phones.’’

__

‘’But just not cars, restaurants and music?’’

__

_‘’Exactly.’’_

Dean sighs and absentmindedly picks up one of the apples resting in a cute little wicker basket.

_It’s like ripping off a Band-Aid, just ask dammit!_

‘’The lovebirds want me to cook the food served at the wedding and the Christmas dinner afterwards and I need your help and kitchen.’’, he explains in one breath.

‘’Please.’’, he adds quickly.

Benny nearly drops the cup dangling loosely from his fingers in surprise. Dean winces.

Maybe he should have been a bit more gentle.

‘’Come again? Slower this time.’’, Benny chuckles, pouring coffee into the white ceramic mugs.

Dean winces softly, tossing the apple back into the basket. Benny gestures for him to take a seat at the island, gently lowering Dean’s cup onto the grey surface.

Dean thanks him softly as Benny sits himself opposite, patiently waiting for Dean to continue.

‘’Ok, you know how I told you that Sam and Gabe want a Christmas wedding?’’

Benny nods, mouth turning up at the corners softly.

‘’Well Sam wanted the reception to just be a Christmas dinner and stuff and...’’, here Dean pauses, stress coursing swiftly through his veins, firing up his usually manageable anxiety.

He takes a deep inhale of the coffee, as Benny huffs out a sympathetic breath.

‘’And they would like you to cook?’’, he questions gently.

Dean nods silently and Benny hums.

They fall silent and Dean finally decides to sip his coffee.

It’s fantastic as usual, and Dean doesn’t exactly know what coffee Benny uses, but damn if it doesn’t make a difference.

Every sip tastes like a home he’s never lived in, welcoming him in anyways. It’s rich and slightly bitter, but never bombastic.

Dean knows that Benny only measures loosely when people give him their preferences. Gabriel likes his coffee unbearably sweet, three sugars, but Dean has seen the careless way Benny heaps in the teaspoons, some large and others barely grazing the sugar pot.

Apparently it’s perfect every time.

Dean likes his own with milk, one sugar and two spoons of whatever coffee Benny drinks.

_‘’I know, pretty basic.’’_

__

__

_‘’It’s basic for a reason, brother. It’s a pretty good ratio.’’_

Not that Benny really stuck to the ‘ratio’ all that much. He seemed to cater specifically to your personality and suddenly you have the best coffee ever.

He can’t imagine it being good with no knowledge of the person drinking it, but Benny’s good with knowing.

Dean makes an appreciative noise with his second sip before Benny speaks.

‘’And you need my help.’’, he states, sipping his own coffee with a grimace.

Benny never likes his own coffee.

‘’Only if you got the time. Seriously, dude, I don’t want you cramming anything into any schedule just to help my ass.’’, Dean answers firmly, fingers drumming on his jean clad thigh.

Benny snorts unattractively and Dean glowers at his casualness towards this mess.

‘’What schedule, Winchester, does it look like I do anythin’ but work and hang out with your sorry ass? Course I’ll help.’’, Benny answers, jagged wording contrasted with the fondness in his voice.

Dean bites the inside of cheek for a second, before succumbing to a huge grin.

‘’Dude, I could kiss you.’’

‘’You could, but please refrain.’’

Dean can’t stop the laugh that wells up from within his stomach from escaping through his mouth.

Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad?

Little does he know that all his hopes and dreams of a quiet, if not stressful few weeks of cooking with his best friend is about to be dashed by the urgent knock on Benny’s front door.

Benny frowns, before to Dean’s absolute confusion, a thunderous expressions steals over the man’s handsome features.

‘’Novak! I swear to the Lord himself, I wasn’t makin’ any sort of goddamn noise today!’’, Benny practically roars, shooting up from his seat and stalking over to the door to maybe rip it from it’s hinges.

Dean blinks at the dramatic shift in atmosphere, awkwardly clutching at his mug.

He can faintly hear an equally pissed off voice sound through the door, before Benny does in fact nearly rip the door off and the voice becomes clear.

And oh God, it is a nice voice.

Deep, gravelly and slightly bordering on monotone and oh so incredibly stuck up sounding.

‘’-if it weren’t for you leaving your trash on my _lawn_ and not the sidewalk where it and dare I say _you_ belong!’’

‘’Goddammit, I left it by my steps to take it out later! I’m so incredibly sorry it jus’ so happened ta _graze_ your precious grass!’’, Benny practically yells back and Dean decides to intervene.

Partly out of the need to defend Benny and partly out of burning curiosity.

Or nosiness.

Doesn’t matter.

He slips out of the barstool gracelessly and makes his way cautiously to the doorway he can glimpse from the kitchen.

The arguing still continues, even when Dean steps into clear few of the two men.

‘’Am I interrupting something?’’, Dean questions cheekily, his grin faltering at the look on Benny’s face and- _holy crap._

Dark blue eyes with fire in them, a slight stubble adorning a near perfect jaw and tousled dark brown hair that borders on indecent stares back at him with a furrowed brow.

_Well Novak me, won’t you._

‘’Sorry brother, should probably make some introductions. This _darling_ of a man here’s _Castiel Novak_ , my next door neighbour.’’, Benny nearly grits out, pronouncing ‘darling’ and ‘Castiel Novak’ the same way he says _instant coffee_.

Castiel relaxes slightly, fists still clenched tightly.

‘’You are his brother?’’, the man says with the cutest head tilt Dean’s ever seen.

Dean huffs out a small laugh.

‘’No, no I’m just his gorgeous best friend, Dean Winchester.’’, Dean says with his best dazzling grin, stretching his hand out for Castiel to shake.

The other man does just that with a slightly awkward incline of his head.

Castiel’s hands are warm and slightly dry, clearly he didn’t do a lot of rough work, judging also by his incredibly old looking trenchcoat.

Dean hasn’t ever known anybody who wears trenchcoats over what looks to be their pyjamas, but he figures Castiel could probably wear a trashbag and Dean would still drool over him.

‘’I see, well I feel very sorry for you.’’, Castiel answers, shooting another glare at Benny as he retracts his hand.

Dean snorts quite loudly, shaking his head in disbelief.

‘’Ok, what the hell did you two do to each other that’s got you so pissed off?’’, Dean asks, deciding to cut to the chase.

Which is a mistake as both Castiel and Benny start speaking in unison.

‘’He makes noises into midnight-‘’

‘’This stuck up, pretentious constantly smoked out asshole does nuthin’ but complain, argue on the phone and cause blackouts-‘’

‘’-not to mention the music, if you wish to call it that!’’

‘’-doesn’t know the meanin’ of the word personal goddamn space-‘’

‘’-and now he’s left his trashbag on my lawn, that I actually take care of, also that’s a phrase not a word.’’, Castiel finishes with the most epic bitchface worthy of Sammy.

Benny is nearly equal though and for what seems like centuries of Dean awkwardly waffling in the middle of their tension, Benny speaks again.

‘’Well at least I can cook.’’

And that is how Dean somehow finds himself back in Benny’s kitchen, tentatively drinking coffee as his friend and Castiel bicker like...well, neighbours.

Dean can’t help but be amused at the fact that it appears that Benny and Castiel have done this before. Castiel is leaning against the island, away from Dean, scolding Benny’s choices in flowers as it _grows over into my own flowers, Benjamin, they are weeds._

Benny is cleaning out glasses and washing plates, all the while throwing insults over his shoulder and asking sarcastically is _the coffee any good, hun?_

Castiel vehemently disagrees with Dean’s appreciative sigh on his second cup.

It all feels almost rehearsed, like a backwards invitation that’s never spoken of. They seem to know each other’s weak points, judging by the occasional bristled silence they fall into.

_A reverse friendship._

And then Dean gets an idea.

A horrible, terrible idea.

_‘’Well at least I can cook.’’_

How much of that statement would be truth, coming from Benny’s mouth? After all, his friend is a bit of a drama queen with food and he already hates Castiel, beautiful, trenchcoated, weirdly attractive, Castiel.

‘’So...’’, he starts out, just to cut through the arguing.

It works and both men fall into expectant silence.

‘’You cook, Cas- can I call you Cas?’’

‘’Chief...’’, Benny growls with warning, but Dean ignores him.

Castiel turns around, suddenly towering over Dean. The man’s eyes are slightly brighter in the colder tones of the room, and Dean can feel a soft shiver travel up his spine at the intensity still present in them.

‘’If it is easier, then yes call me ‘Cas’. As for whether I can cook or not, that depends entirely upon the person apparently.’’, Cas answers, eyes shifting to where Benny is making his way towards Dean.

‘’Dean, _don’t._ His cookin’ is shit, trust me brother. Also I don’t want him buzzin’ around in my kitchen, even when you are here.’’, Benny pleads, the desperation in his eyes travelling to his voice.

It’s... _unnerving_ , yes, but Dean’s not about to give up.

For entirely selfless reasons, this is all for the greater good that is Sammy and Gabe’s wedding.

And, Benny could use more friends! He just...started off wrong with Cas.

Very, very wrong.

There’s a questioning look on Cas’ face, and before he or Benny can do anything, Dean’s already launching into the dilemma at hand.

It’s kind of funny watching the colour drain out of Benny’s face, even if Dean is starting to feel very guilty.

There is a silence after Dean finishes his explanation and by now Cas’ face is deep in thought.

‘’The thought sounds very appealing, I love to cook and your situation seems to border on dire. However, as much as I despise this man you call friend here, I would never wish to intrude upon his house or his kitchen.’’

And there it is.

Respect.

Sure the insults, glares and little inconveniences here and there were anything but respectful, but there is an undercurrent of _understanding._

It’s clear that by the end of the day, they seem to have a mutual _something_ going on, knowing when to provoke and when to stop.

It’s a game, it seems, and Dean can’t fathom what went wrong here.

Hell in most regards, their pretty similar, and maybe with time, patience and lots of stress that something can bloom into an actual friendship, with good coffee and everything.

‘’Benny?’’, Dean asks quietly, swivelling the stool around to look at his friend.

There is an odd expression on Benny’s face, he staring at Cas like he can see him for the first time. Dean wonders if this is perhaps the first time Cas has voiced his silent respect.

After a few tense seconds, Benny finally sighs and throws up a hand in surrender.

‘’Your brother, your brother’s wedding. Stay away from my utensils, Novak.’’

‘’Wouldn’t dream of even touching them, Lafitte. I am bringing my own.’’

Dean relaxes into his seat, exhaling into the coffee. As the fumes puff up over his skin and the two men once again resume their bickering, he has to wonder if this was in fact a good idea.

Sam answers the second time Dean calls him, quickly voicing apologies and citing Gabriel as the distraction.

‘’Ew, ok apology accepted. I just wanted to call you and let you know I got everything under control with the food. You don’t gotta worry about a thing, baby brother.’’, Dean says, questioning the validity of his own statement as he slips into his bed.

‘’Oh. You’re actually doing it? Seriously, Dean, you don’t have to-‘’

Dean rolls his eyes as Sam continues rambling, delighting once more in the memory foam that moulds around his body.

‘’Sammy, stop. Just...I’ve got this, okay? You just focus on not killing Gabriel.’’, Dean reassures, hoping the affection for his brother and brother in law is present.

‘’Thanks, Dean, we really appreciate it. You do have help, right?’’

‘’Course. I love you, I don’t love you that much.’’

‘’Ok, whatever. Goodnight, jerk.’’

‘’Night, bitch.’’

Dean Winchester’s baby brother is getting married and he’s cooking the food, along with his best friend and what could turn out to be his mortal enemy.

He sighs with a slight chuckle, flicking off his lamp.

_Son of a bitch._

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and critique are always welcome, I sincerely hope you enjoyed the first chapter :D


End file.
